The city takes its name from the river
"Jiu", which runs through it. In antiquity, there was a Dacian
village in around the location of today's city surrounded by forests. After the
Roman conquests of Oltenia (101-102), military units were stationed around the
roads that connected different important routes at the time. During the digging
of the Târgu Jiu - Rovinari railroad, mosaics, coins, ceramics and Roman bricks
were found in the south-eastern part of the city. This and ancient testimonies
support the idea that Târgu Jiu was a commercial town (a vicus) while under the
Roman Empire's rule. A
